title: Do wind and brass players snore less? A cross-sectional study of snoring and daytime fatigue in professional orchestral musicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether playing a wind or brass musical instrument is associated with reduced snoring or daytime fatigue.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, controlled, anonymous, questionnaire-based observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rehearsal and performance halls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and forty musicians from Scotland's five professional orchestras.
  
  
  METHODS
  Snore Outcomes Survey questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Score.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hierarchical linear regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant difference was found between the snoring severity (Snore Outcomes Survey score) or daytime sleepiness (Epworth score) of wind/brass and other professional musicians. A regression model with snoring severity (Snore Outcomes Survey score) as the dependent variable and the three covariates of gender, age and body mass index as independent variables was significant [F(3, 206) = 28.77, P < 0.01, adjusted r(2) = 0.285]. Increasing age, body mass index and male gender were all significantly associated with lower Snore Outcomes Survey scores (i.e. worse snoring).The addition of instrument type did not significantly increase the fit of the model, and the regression coefficient for instrument type was not significant. There were similar results when the Epworth Sleepiness Score was used as the dependent variable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated no significant difference between the snoring severity or daytime sleepiness of brass/wind players and other professional orchestral musicians. This result may have been attributed to comparatively low levels of snoring/daytime sleepiness in the population studied. The findings contrast with previous studies examining the effects of singing and didgeridoo playing but concur with a recent similar study of orchestral musicians. A prospective interventional study would be required to determine whether playing a wind or brass instrument improves these variables in patients complaining of disruptive snoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, Scotland, UK. peterwardrop@nhs.net
authors.forename: P J C
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Wardrop
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ravichandran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hair
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sword
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010609:Pharyngeal Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012606:Scotland; D012737:Sex Factors; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires